


A Strange Cage

by LaceyBarbedWire



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, Ghosts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-09-08
Updated: 2015-02-09
Packaged: 2018-02-16 16:02:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 8,096
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2275890
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LaceyBarbedWire/pseuds/LaceyBarbedWire
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Just as Regina is beginning to cast the Dark Curse, the Blue Fairy stabs her in the back. Seriously wounded, Regina manages to cast the curse, but not correctly. Instead of depositing a large group of people in Maine, the only things the curse brings are Regina's soul and baby Emma. Emma is deposited on the side of the road in Utah, while Regina's soul is trapped in the Dracula's Castle haunted house ride at Lagoon amusement park. Regina spends the next eighteen years alone and unable to be seen or heard until Emma gets a job at Lagoon. Eventual Swan Queen.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Regina sighed and leaned back against the wall, sinking down to the ground in front of ‘her portrait’. Once upon a time she would never have deigned to sit on the floor of this place. It was filthy. Frankly, Regina had never seen anybody clean the floor the whole time she'd been trapped in this place. And she'd been here for seventeen years. She shook her head angrily. Just as she'd been about to cast the Dark Curse, that obnoxious Blue Fairy had tried to kill her. She'd failed, but Regina had been so shocked that something had gone wrong with the curse. Instead of being placed in a small town where she had complete control, she'd been trapped inside this...place. She still wasn’t sure where she was. All she could tell was that it was dimly lit, full of poorly made and maintained automatons, and strange, small horseless carriages carried and ever changing crowd of people through. From the snippets of conversation she’d heard over the years, she’d learned that she was in something that was supposedly Dracula’s Castle, located in the city of Lagoon. However, she knew that couldn’t be right because she’d been to Dracula’s Castle and this was far too dirty, small, and well, poorly lit. Besides, Vlad would never allow such poor automatons or so many peasants to be in his castle. And he certainly would have visited at some point during the past seventeen years.  
Regina punched the wall next to her, only for her fist to go right through it. That was the worst part of being trapped here. She was completely impotent. Not only could she not actually touch the world around her, nobody could see or hear her. It was awful. Being trapped here, that was one thing. She could have handled that. There’d been a time when she was stuck inside of a screaming painting at the end of the entry hall, and she’d survived that. But being incapable of doing anything? Being less able to affect the world than a breeze? There was nothing worse than that. There was a movement at the other end of the hall, and Regina looked up to see the doors opening to reveal a young blonde woman wearing the blue shirt and khaki trousers of the people who worked around the castle.  
Emma scowled as her small flashlight went out. The thing was a complete piece of junk, but that’s what she should have expected from a flashlight that was only six inches long. As she walked through the entry hall, straining her eyes for any sign of something that could pose a problem to the carriages, the portrait screamed, making her jump. “Dammit Sarah!” She snapped. She always forgot about the motion sensitive picture, so she’d given it a name so she’d feel slightly less weird about yelling at it.  
“My name isn’t Sara.” A female voice muttered. “It’s Regina.” Emma froze.  
“Who said that?” She called anxiously, looking around. Regina stared at her in disbelief and stood up.  
“You can hear me?” She demanded incredulously, rushing to the girl’s side.  
“Aw crap.” Emma moaned. “I knew this job would drive me crazy, I just didn’t think it would happen on the third week.” Regina scowled.  
“I assure you, I am no hallucination Emma.” She’d spent too long effectively alone, she was not letting her one chance at human contact to think herself crazy and leave. Emma looked confusedly in the direction of the voice.  
"How do you know my name?" Emma demanded. Regina sighed and pointed. Once again, a useless gesture since the younger woman couldn't see her, but it was instinctive.

"It's on your badge." She reminded Emma, indicating the rectangle of plastic on the collar of the girl's shirt.

"Oh, right." Emma said sheepishly. "So...you're a ghost?"  
"More or less."

"Did you die here or something?" Emma asked, trying to remember if she'd ever heard of someone being killed in Dracula's Castle. Regina shook her head.

"No. I was killed in a castle, but it was a far different one, clean and large enough to actually be a castle." She paused. "Should we start walking? If I remember correctly you need to continue checking the castle and the enchantments that keep the carriages moving." Emma gave a strange look in Regina's general direction.

"Enchantments?" She asked, walking along the track.

"Oh, right, no magic in this world." Regina said, following her. She'd momentarily forgotten why this specific world had been the destination of the Dark Curse. Emma frowned.

"This world? You're not an alien ghost, are you?"

"Alien?" Regina asked, also frowning.

"You know, from outer space? Up there with the stars?"

"No. I do come from another world, but not in the way you're talking about. Another name for the worlds are realms." Emma gave a blank look, and Regina sighed. "I've also heard them referred to as dimensions." Emma started.

"Wait, seriously? Alternate dimensions are real, they're not just comic book stuff?"

"I have no idea what a comic book is, but I assure you, the other worlds are quite real."

"Wait, if you're from another world, why are you here? Does everybody who dies in your world come here as ghosts?"

"I doubt it. No, I was casting a spell to bring me and a large group of people from our world to this one when I was killed."

"Why would you want to come here? There was magic where you come from!" Regina hesitated, and decided to give Emma a sanitized version of her history.

"In my land I was a queen. There was a group of people who'd attacked me and then used magic to make it so that I could not hurt them in our world. So I found a spell that would create a prison in this world. It would have made a small town that none of us would have been able to leave. In addition, I would have been the mayor and the only one to remember our world, making me the warden. However, one of my enemies managed to get past my guards and stabbed me in the back with a dagger just as I had begun to cast the spell. I lashed out with my magic and while I managed to cast the spell, the only thing to come into this world was my soul." Emma raised an eyebrow as she ducked down to fit through the tunnel at the end of the ride. Technically she wasn't supposed to go through it, but she didn't want to break off her conversation with Regina.

"So you've been trapped in here for how long?"

"Almost eighteen years." Regina said morosely, following her.

"Huh. Funny, that's how old I am." Emma commented. She stepped out of the ride onto the 'front porch', and then paused. "They found me on the side of the road as a baby. Did you...?"

"Of course not." Regina said quickly, stopping just short of the exit. "Why would I bring a baby but leave my body? Besides, if my spell had brought you here you wouldn't have aged."

"Ok." Emma looked from the general direction of Regina, to the control panel for sending the carriages through. "Do you mind if I keep working?"

"No, go ahead.”

"Thanks." Emma said, turning and sending a carriage through. Regina stretched out a hand, only for it to be stopped by the invisible wall that was in place at every exit. She scowled. She'd hoped that Emma being able to hear her had meant that she'd be able to leave soon, but apparently that was not the case.

"What is this place?" Regina asked, looking around. She'd gone to the main entrance and exit before of course; but she'd never paid much attention to what was going in the 'front porch'. "I know that it's not really Dracula's Castle, and that it's located in the city of Lagoon, but that's all I know." Emma looked incredulous.

"Seriously? You've been here for almost eighteen years and you don't know what this is?"

"May I remind you that I'm confined to the inside of this building Emma, and you're the only one who can hear me." Regina growled, irritated.

"Right, sorry." Emma said with a wince. "Well, first off, Lagoon's not a city, it's an amusement park. People pay money to come here and ride the rides and stuff."

"People pay you money to go through this dingy, dark building full of poorly made automatons?"

"Well, not just this place. We have roller coasters, Ferris wheels, and other stuff too."

"What's a roller coaster?" Regina asked, confused. Emma frowned.

"It's hard to explain..." She said slowly, thinking. Regina shook her head.

"Don't worry, it's not important. It's not as though I'll ever be able to see one." Emma gave a pitying look in the direction of where she thought Regina was. "Why are you looking at that owl automaton like that?" Regina asked with a frown. "Is something wrong with it?" Emma flushed and turned in the right direction.

"Sorry, my hearing's not great." Regina realized that Emma's look was one of pity.  
"I don't need your pity Emma." She snapped, bristling.  
“Well too bad, you’ve got it.” Emma replied stubbornly. Regina chuckled. ‘This could be interesting’ she decided.


	2. Chapter 2

A Strange Cage Chapter 2

Emma stood just outside the entry doors of Dracula's castle, looking in Regina's general direction. She'd worked a double shift today, and both had been at the Castle, but that wasn't guaranteed. She'd already explained this to Regina. "I work here second shift tomorrow though, and I'll do my best to grab any shifts here that come up." Emma promised. She'd probably get some strange looks, but she'd deal with them. "And I know you said there's no magic here, but there's so many spells and stuff in the world that some of it's got to work. I'll start looking tonight and print them off so you can look them over."

"Thank you." Regina said, her voice full of real gratitude. She didn't really expect Emma to have any success, but the important thing was that she was willing to try. Nobody had gone out of their way to help her in years, even before she'd been reduced to an impotent ghost. Emma gave her an easy smile.

"It's no problem."

"I know. I just...thank you." Emma nodded, suddenly awkward.

"Hey, I know what it's like to be trapped and alone, even if it's never been as extreme for me as it's been for you." She brightened. "Besides, if anyone can get you out of her it's me. I'm like Houdini."

"Who?" Emma's shoulders slumped and she blushed.

"Oh, right, you wouldn't know who he is, would you? Forget it, not important."

"Right." Regina said slowly. "Well, good night Emma."

"Good night Regina." Emma replied, giving a smile in the older woman's general direction. Regina gave a small smile as the blonde walked off. She never slept anymore, she couldn't, but she had a feeling that this night wouldn't be so bad.  
\------------------------------------------------------------------  
Thirty minutes later-Emma's foster home

Emma looked around as she put the computer into incognito mode. Compared to some of the other kids in the home did on the computer what she was going to look up wasn't bad, but it was weird enough that she didn't really want anyone else to see the history. But her embarrassment wasn't enough to deter her. As she'd been driving home she'd realized something-Lagoon was closed from November to May. That meant that for the past seventeen years, Regina had spent almost six months without ever seeing or hearing another person. Emma shuddered. That...she couldn't find words to describe how much that sucked. And now that she was aware of Regina, she couldn't just abandon her. Right then and there, Emma promised herself that she'd find a way to help Regina before the end of the current operating season.  
\------------------------------------------------------------------  
The next day-Dracula's Castle

Regina bent over, looking at the sheet of paper Emma was holding up for her inspection. They were in the storage/breaker room just off the 'front porch'. Emma had volunteered to finish closing the ride herself, and so they were alone as Emma showed Regina the papers she'd printed off. She hadn't found much, most spells and rituals about ghosts were aimed at exorcising them or forcing them to move on rather than freeing them, but she had found some. "That...is a locator spell." Regina said slowly, some of her frustration bleeding through. She'd already ruled out three quarters of the sheets Emma had printed off. A few of them had been real spells, just with drastically different purposes than what they claimed to do, but most were so strange that they couldn't possibly be real spells in any world. Emma sighed.

"Alight, how about this one?" She tossed the paper aside and showed Regina the paper underneath it. Regina stared at it, baffled.

"I have no idea what that's supposed to do. None of this resembles any spell I've ever seen, and it uses salt."

"...So?" Emma asked, confused.

"Salt dampens magic. It's often used to ward against magic entirely." Regina sighed and stood up. "This is pointless."

"Come on, let's just keep looking." Emma said trying to be calm.

"Why? You clearly didn't find anything worth the effort it takes to read." Emma glared in her direction.

"Hey! I spent, like, three hours getting all of these! The least you could do was say thanks!" She snapped.

"You're right." Regina said in a falsely sweet tone. "Thank you for wasting my time." Emma stood up, grabbing the papers.

"You know what? I don't have to take this! I worked hard to find these spells for you. Remember, I'm not getting anything out of this. But if you just want to be a bitch, then screw it. Because guess what your majesty? Unlike you, I can leave." Regina stared after her as she left. At first she was furious. Who did Emma think she was, talking to her like that? Then, slowly, she calmed down. Emma had spoken the truth-she wasn't getting anything by helping Regina. She'd been doing it out of kindness. And Regina, to be honest, hadn't really expected to find a spell that'd help. But she had had some hope, and to get hope, however small, after almost eighteen years of hopelessness and then lose it? That had been more than she could bear.

Regina sighed. Some ten years ago she'd promised herself that she'd always be honest with herself. And she knew that she'd been unnecessarily harsh towards Emma. She nodded sadly and slipped back inside the 'castle proper' determining to apologize to Emma the next time she saw her.  
\------------------------------------------------------------------  
Four days later

Emma winced as she looked at Dracula's Castle. She hadn't planned in avoiding Regina for this long. It was just that she had four other rides to work besides the castle. She hadn't traded away any shifts with Regina, she just hadn't traded for them either. And now she was opening by herself. Emma took a deep breath. Her pity for the woman was waging war with her sense of annoyance, but she'd decided to give Regina another chance. So she went through the first steps of checking over the ride, then stepped into the entry hall. "Regina?" She called out, looking around.

"You came back." Regina said from behind her, sounding somewhat stiff.

"I said I'd come as often as I could."

"You said a lot of things."

"I know." Emma said slowly. "And I'm sorry."

"Are you really?" Emma got the distinct impression that Regina was raising a skeptical eyebrow, and it pissed her off again.

"Yes." She snapped, turning around and walking off. There was a sharp intake of breath.

"Emma, wait." Regina said, moving quickly to catch up with the blonde. "I'm sorry. I was frustrated and upset and I took that out on you. I shouldn't have done that, and I'm sorry." There was a long pause and Regina reached out to put a hand on Emma's shoulder. "Emma, please..." Her voice trailed off as she stared at her hand. Rather than just going through Emma's shoulder as expected, it stopped, resting on the blonde's shoulder. Emma turned her head to stare at her shoulder. She couldn't see anything, but she could feel the hand.

"Regina, is that your hand?" Emma asked slowly. Regina nodded, staring at her hand in amazement.

"Can you see me?" Emma winced.

"No, sorry." Regina shook it off.

"But you can feel me?"

"Yeah." Emma gave Regina a small smile that the older woman returned. Regina reached out with her other hand and tentatively pressed it against one of the thin wooden walls. She let out a small cry of pleasure as her hand was stopped by it. For the past seventeen years those walls had been as insubstantial as air, but now...There was a quiet rumbling noise as one if the carriages rolled by them on its test run. Regina removed her hands from Emma's shoulder and the wall and stepped in front of it. Emma, who couldn't see what Regina was doing, looked around in worry when she heard a grunt followed by a thud as the carriage briefly shuddered. "Regina? Are you okay?" Suddenly two arms wrapped around her in a tight embrace.

"Thank you." Regina breathed as she buried her face in Emma's neck.

"I didn't do anything." Emma protested.

"Before you came along I had nothing. Nobody could hear or see me, and I couldn't feel anything. There were days when I wondered if I even existed. And then I met you. Just...thank you." Emma's eyes widened as she felt a few drops if warm liquid hit her skin. Was Regina crying? Emma hugged Regina as tightly as she dared, giving the other woman the sensation of touch that she'd been denied for so long.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pointless fluff.

"Regina?" Emma called out, looking around the hall. Something brushed against her head and she jumped, whirling around. Whatever had been rubbing the top if her head had not been natural. Then she heard a throaty chuckle from above her and realized what had happened. "Regina!" Emma snapped, glaring up at the plywood wall to her left. "Not funny!"

"I don't know, it amused me." Regina drawled. Emma could hear her smirk.

"What was that?" She demanded. There was no answer, and Emma looked around warily. After regaining the ability to touch things, Regina had begun to display a surprising level of playfulness. Or, more accurately, she'd displayed a love of tormenting Emma. It didn't help that the woman had ninja skills when it came to moving silently. Suddenly, Emma yelped as fingers pressed into her sides, tickling her mercilessly. "Regina, stop it!" Emma shrieked, trying to dance away. Regina followed after her, never stopping her assault on Emma's sides. The blonde cursed the day she'd let Regina discover that she was ticklish. They'd gotten into an argument the second day after Regina had started to be able to touch things again when the ghost woman had gone a little touch crazy and climbed up on the dragon. Regina had snapped at her and poked her in the side. Her sides weren't Emma's most ticklish spot, Regina hadn't discovered those yet, but they were still sensitive enough to make her shriek and jump away. There had been a long moment of silence, and then the tickle assault had begun.

"That was my shoe." Regina finally said after stopping her assault on Emma's sides. Emma blinked.

"You're wearing shoes?" Emma could hear Regina rolling her eyes.

"Yes Emma, I'm wearing shoes. Did you think I was just walking around naked?"

"Shoeless does not mean naked." Emma said defensively. She paused. "Though now that you mention it I don't know what you look like."

"Well no, you wouldn't." Regina said, managing to sound only slightly bitter. Emma sat down on a stopped carriage.

"Why don't you describe yourself?" Regina looked at her in surprise.

"Well...I'm five foot five inches tall. I have olive toned skin, brown hair, and brown eyes. I have a scar on the right side of my mouth, but I really don't remember how I got it."

"And what are you wearing?" Emma asked, blushing slightly. Regina raised an eyebrow, confused as to why the younger woman was blushing, then shrugged it off.

"A black dress and cloak." She said simply.

"A cloak? Isn't that a cape?"

"I suppose." Regina admitted.

"No crown? Weren't you the queen?"

"I...never really wore a crown. Or had one made for that matter."

"No crown? Ever?" Emma gasped in mock horror.

"No." Regina said flatly, rolling her eyes.

"I'm going to have to fix that." Emma said, nodding in determination.

"As you wish."  
\------------------------------------------------------------------  
Twenty four hours later

"Regina?" Emma called out again, staying far away from the walls.

"Calm down Emma, I'm done climbing walls." Regina drawled from behind her. Emma frowned in concern.

"Did something happen?"

"I...fell." Regina told her reluctantly. "I landed on the strange lightning chair man."

"Are you okay?"

"Mostly." Regina was still surprised by how much care and concern Emma showed for her, but it made her feel...warm. "I haven't felt pain in years. I didn't miss it." Then she noticed that Emma was holding something behind her back. "What are you holding?" Emma beamed and held out a large, strangely shaped ring made of yellow paper.

"It's a crown!" Emma said happily, putting it on Regina's head, surprising the older woman. "I had to watch some of the little kids last night, they wanted to do arts and crafts, so I made you a crown." Regina shook her head, smiling slightly.

"You are a child." She said dryly. Emma stuck her tongue out at Regina.

"I'm seventeen, I don't have to be mature yet." Regina rolled her eyes and removed the crown from her head, rolling it in her hands to look it over. Emma blinked. She'd never actually seen Regina holding something before and it was a little disconcerting. Regina for her part, was deeply touched. Yes, the crown was crudely made, and the 'gems' Emma had drawn on the crown weren't exactly perfect circles, and some of the points were bigger than others, but it was the first time since Daniel's death that someone had given her a gift purely for the sake of giving her a gift. So she hugged Emma fiercely. She wasn't good at voicing her emotions that weren't anger, but she tried to put everything she was feeling into that hug. Emma smiled in understanding and patted her on the back.

"Of course, there is a downside to wearing this." Regina said as she stepped back. Emma raised an eyebrow.

"Oh? What's that?"

"Now you'll be able to see me sneaking up on you." Emma grinned.

"That may have been a fringe benefit." Regina shrugged and put the crown back on.

"I'll think of something." She said. Emma gulped. The tone was light, but it still scared her a bit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, this is so short, life happened.


	4. Chapter 4

Emma grinned. "You're wearing the crown." Regina nodded, the seemingly floating crown bobbing up and down.

"Of course. Why wouldn't I?" Emma, shrugged, still grinning.

"I don't know, it's been two weeks since I gave it to you is all. I don't think any of the other craft things that got made that week have lasted this long." Regina smiled.

"I am better at taking care of something than a five year old dear."

"Apparently." Emma agreed.

"Now then, there's something I wanted to show you." Regina told her. Emma raised an eyebrow. She could hear Regina's smile.

"Uh, ok...how are you going to show me?" Regina punched her lightly on the shoulder, just enough to hurt a bit.

"Just stay there." She growled. Emma watched, somewhat confused, as the crown made its way around the corner. Two seconds later, she let out a startled yelp as the crown slowly pushed its way through the wall.

"You can walk through walls now?"

"I always could. I've simply had to relearn how to do so." Regina explained once she was completely through the wall.

"Ok, that's pretty cool." Emma admitted. Regina smirked. She had another ability, but she was going to wait and surprise Emma with it.  
\------------------------------------------------------------------  
Six hours later

Regina quickly stashed her crown in its hiding place in the rafters, then went intangible and let herself fall back down. There were downsides to this new ability of course. She had to constantly concentrate so she didn't fall through the floors, and when she became solid again her whole body was full of the same weird feeling that came when one's foot fell asleep. But the main benefit far outweighed the cost. "Night Regina." Emma called as she locked the doors.

"Good night Emma." Regina replied, trying to keep the amusement out of her voice. Fortunately she must have succeeded, because Emma didn't question her. She counted to ten, then pressed herself against the doors. Once she'd begun working on walking through the walls of the 'castle' something had occurred to her. The barrier trapping her here felt as solid as any wall. Now that she knew how to concentrate on going through walls, why shouldn't it work on this barrier? It had taken longer than any wall had, but the thought of being able to spend time with Emma outside of Emma's work had given her the strength to go through. She'd spent about a minute just pacing the front 'porch' of the 'castle', then gone back inside. For some reason exploring Lagoon without Emma just seemed wrong. Moreover, it wasn't as though she'd know what anything was without Emma's help. But now...Regina's lips turned up in a smirk as she quietly followed Emma. They made their way to a large gravel field full of large metal objects that Regina assumed were the cars Emma had spoken of. Emma unlocked a small green car that said Honda on the back, and Regina slipped through the walls of the vehicle, silently sitting down on the seat next to Emma's. She waited until they had left the gravel field and were away from any other vehicles before speaking.

"So, where are we going?"

"Ahhhh!" Emma screamed, yanking on the steering wheel and swerving the car. The older woman started laughing. "Holy crap! Regina?"

"Do you know anyone else who is invisible?" Regina asked dryly.

"Don't be snarky with me woman!" Emma snapped, stomping on the brakes. "You gave me a heart attack!"

"That was the intended effect."

"When did you start being able to leave Dracula's Castle?" Emma demanded.

"Last night."

"And you didn't tell me before now because?"

"I wanted to surprise you." Regina said, still chuckling at Emma's reaction.

"Stop laughing! That wasn't funny!"

"Yes it was." Emma glared at the seemingly empty passenger seat, then shook her head.

"Okay, yeah, it was kind of funny." She admitted, giving a sigh and a small smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your comments! I love them, please keep sending them!


	5. Chapter 5

Emma looked around her bedroom in confusion. "Regina?" She asked.

"Mmph." A voice murmured from the direction of her bed. Emma turned and stared at her bed.

"Regina? Are you on my bed?"

"Five more minutes." Regina responded groggily. Emma blinked. She hadn't felt the other woman in her bed. In fact, now that she thought about it, she didn't know what Regina had done all night.

"I thought you didn't need to sleep."

"I don't. But my feet are sore. Besides, I've spent eighteen years in that wretched castle. I don't know if you've noticed, but there aren't any soft surfaces in that place." Regina let out a long sigh of contentment. "Your bed is so soft!" Emma grinned.

"Well your majesty, I've got the day off. Want to go to Lagoon and wander around aimlessly for the rest of the day?"

"Five more minutes." Regina repeated. "Then I'll think about walking again." Emma rolled her eyes. When had she become the mature one?  
\------------------------------------------------------------------  
Six minutes later

"So, what'd you do all night?" Emma asked as she pulled out of the parking lot. "Please tell me you didn't watch me sleep."

"Of course not." Regina snorted, sounding offended. "I have standards you know. No, I spent an hour or so looking around your home. I'm afraid I gave one of your foster brothers quite the fright." Emma raised an eyebrow.

"Really? What did you do?"

"Nothing on purpose. He simply stumbled upon me sampling an...Oreo I believe the package said." Emma took her eyes off the road to stare at the passenger seat in disbelief.

"You stole a cookie?"

"Only one." Regina said defensively. "And keep your eyes on the road Emma, I have no desire to be thrown through the glass in front of us because you couldn't watch where you were going."

"Right, sorry." Emma said, forcing herself to focus on the road. "Alright, so you stole a cookie and traumatized a young boy for life. What'd you do for the rest of the night?"

"I left you house and began wandering around...downtown I think you call it?" When Emma nodded, Regina continued. "I had planned on looking around, only stopping in any one place for a few minutes, but I got distracted in the third building I visited."

"Oh? What was it?" Emma asked, merging onto the freeway.

"Mountain Heat I believe." Emma choked on air.

"W...wh...what? You're telling me that you spent the whole night in a strip club?"

"Oh, is that what they're called?" Regina asked curiously. "At any rate, yes. It was quite entertaining." She sighed as Emma continued to gape in shock. "Close your mouth dear, you'll catch flies. And try not to be so shocked. I may be dead, but I still have needs. Needs that I have been unable to fulfill for quite some time." Emma shook her head.

"Right, right. Sorry. I just...didn't expect that."

"If it makes you feel better, I doubt I'll be going back. The whole thing was rather frustrating. It's like having a craving for fish and then going to look at a persons private fish tank. To be honest, I don't see the point of going to such a place."

"And yet you stayed all night." If Regina hadn't still been invisible, Emma would have seen that she was blushing.

"Yes well..." Regina coughed. "Eighteen years of pent up hormones can overpower even the strongest minds at times."

"Fair enough." Emma said, nodding. "But what's your excuse?" She continued with a smirk. Regina glared at her and grabbed Emma's right earlobe, pulling sharply. "Ow, ow! Regina I'm trying to drive here!" Emma protested.

"Then maybe you should think before you question my intelligence." Regina snapped, letting go of Emma's ear. "As it is you're lucky I don't have magic."

"Well at least you were able to work the hormones out of your system." Emma said after a moments silence. Regina stared at her.

"What are you talking about? Did I not just explain to you how frustrating it was?" Emma raised an eyebrow.

"But nobody could see you. Couldn't you have just, you know...rubbed it out?" There was a long moment of silence.

"Excuse me?" Regina finally demanded indignantly. "Do you really think that I would sit in a public place and do such a thing? In fact, do you really think I would do such a thing at all?"

"Jeez, calm down, I was just asking." Emma said placatingly as they pulled into the employee parking lot. She turned off the car, then paused as something finally occurred to her. "Wait...what kind of dancers were there?"

"Female ones." Regina said, slipping herself through the still closed car door. Emma blinked as she stepped out of the car.

"So, do you like women then, or were you just really, really horny and didn't care?"

"I find both men and women attractive, though I'll admit that I find myself appreciating women more often than men." Regina said, still nonchalant. She paused. "Why? Does that bother you?"

"No. No, totally fine with me." Emma assured her as they walked around towards the front entrance. "Just curious." Then something else occurred to her. "Hey, you didn't peep on me when I was changing or in the shower did you?"

"Of course not. You're my friend, I would never betray you like that." Regina assured the blonde.

"Good, good." Emma said, nodding. She stopped, staring at the employee entrance, then opened it. "After you."


	6. Chapter 6

Regina stared up at the massive drop tower. "And people ride that thing...for fun." She repeated. Emma nodded.

"Yep. So, wanna go?"

"Not in the slightest." Emma pouted, looking around.

"Hey, what about the Samurai?" Regina stared again as the three 'armed' thing spun around, lifting the people into the air and upside down.

"Let's not."

"You're no fun." Emma muttered. "Scaredy cat."

"Emma, if one of these rides break you will likely die on impact. I, however, cannot die again, but I still feel pain. I will feel all the injuries I would sustain, as I can neither die nor fall unconscious. I would rather avoid such things." Emma sighed.

"Well then, you're riding a roller coaster, because I am not spending all day on the tilt-a-whirl. Dammit, why couldn't this be Disneyland?"

"How would that help?" Regina asked curiously.

"Because they have rides that aren't thrill rides that are fun. We just have a bunch of spinny things."

"Spinny things?" Emma flushed.

"I'm a badass blonde, I can talk like Buffy if I want to!"

"Buffy?" Emma groaned.

"That's it, the minute I move out you're having a marathon with me."

"If you insist." Regina sighed, smiling slightly.  
\------------------------------------------------------------------  
Five minutes later

"Yes, people really ride this for fun." Emma said as they stood in front of Colossus the Fire Dragon, a roller coaster with two loops, one right after the other. "And you agreed to ride a roller coaster with me, so there's no backing out of this one." Regina sighed the sigh of the condemned and followed Emma.  
\------------------------------------------------------------------  
Six minutes later

"Well?" Emma asked with a smile.

"It was an...interesting experience." Regina said finally. "I wouldn't say that I enjoyed it, but it was not awful either." Emma rolled her eyes, but kept smiling anyways. "Tell me, what is that wheel's purpose?"

"The Ferris Wheel?" Emma blinked. "It's a super slow ride, meant more for taking a break and getting to look around."

"I would like to try it." Regina said.

"But it's on the opposite side of the park." Emma moaned. "Why didn't you say something when we were right next to it?" Regina remained silent. "Fine, but we're doing the go karts first." She sighed. Regina smiled.  
\------------------------------------------------------------------  
Four hours later

"...Thank you." Regina said, standing outside Emma's car. "Today was the most enjoyable day I have had in, well, in a long time." She hadn't been this happy since Daniel had died in fact. Emma grinned.

"No problem. I had fun too." Then she raised an eyebrow. "Are you not coming home with me?" Regina shook her head, even though Emma couldn't see her.

"There are some things I need to do." Emma smirked.

"You're going to sneak into the arcade and play CarnEvil until we open, aren't you?" Regina shifted like a caught child.

"What's wrong with that?" She demanded somewhat petulantly. "Nobody's there to see me, and it looked enjoyable."

"Hey, I'm not judging you." Emma said quickly. "It's just kind of a funny image. Try not to traumatize anybody, ok?"

"I make no promises." Regina said with a smirk. She leaned over an quickly kissed Emma on the cheek. "Goodnight Emma." She said, walking away as Emma stared after her, dumbstruck.

"Goodnight."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promised that Swan Queen would happen eventually!
> 
> Thanks for reading guys! Please review! Love you!


	7. Chapter 7

"You beat CarnEvil five times?" Emma demanded, staring at the screen of said arcade game incredulously. She was holding her cell phone up to her ear, making it look as though she was talking into her phone rather than Regina. She was looking at the high score list, with the top five all belonging to Regina. Regina shrugged, though Emma couldn't see it.  
"The nights are boring. I've almost beaten the Time Crisis 3 game as well." Emma scowled, pocketed her phone, and picked up the gun attached to CarnEvil, sticking the necessary coins into the game.  
"I'm so beating you." She huffed determinedly. Regina smirked.  
"Good luck dear."  
"I can hear your smirk you know." Emma muttered.  
"Good. That means I haven't lost my touch." Regina replied, still smirking.  
Six hours later  
"I hate you." Emma groaned, resting her head on the steering wheel of her car.  
"I didn't make you waste six hours in a futile attempt to beat one of my scores." Regina said with a roll of her eyes.  
"I will beat you one day!" Emma declared. Regina patted her on the back.  
"I'm sure you will dear." She said, sounding like a parent trying to reassure a child who's taken on an impossible quest. Emma glared at her.  
"I hate you." She repeated.  
"You said that already."  
"Well, that's cause it's true, you big jerk." Regina rolled her eyes, leaned over, and pressed a kiss to Emma's cheek.  
"I'm sorry. Forgive me?" Emma blinked owlishly, blushing slightly.  
"Uh, yeah. Sure, no problem." She said slowly, starting the car. Regina smirked at the younger woman's reaction, though she was a little thrown by her own impulsiveness.  
Twelve hours later  
Emma turned the corner and screamed. Standing there, in the middle of the track, was a large clown statue, crouching down and looking directly at her, head cocked to one side. “Regina!” She snapped once she’d recovered, whirling around. After a minute of not getting any response, Emma turned back around to find that the ‘statue’ had moved closer to her, and was standing up straight now. She blinked and took a step back. There was a pause, then nothing happened. Emma let out a sigh of relief, and that was when the clown moved again, walking slowly and deliberately towards her. Emma shrieked, and then the clown tore off its face and threw it at her. Emma screamed and fell over backwards, landing on the ground and staring up at the abomination in horror. It walked towards her, now faceless but not headless, and then, when it was only a foot away from her…it doubled over with very familiar laughter. Emma stared for a long moment. “Regina!” She snapped, glaring up at the woman. “That wasn’t funny!”  
“Yes it was dear.” Regina said, still chuckling. “If I’d known your reaction would be that entertaining, I would have done that weeks ago.” Emma glared and lashed out with her leg, knocking Regina to the ground.  
“I hate you.” She growled out. Regina chuckled.  
“You’ve been saying that a lot lately.” She noted, taking the clown costume off.   
“Well you’ve been very hateable lately.”  
“Hateable?” Regina asked, raising an eyebrow.  
“Shut up.” Emma muttered. “There’s nothing wrong with making up words.”  
“Of course not.” Regina consoled her. Emma let out a huff and slowly stood up.  
“I’m going to get to work. You…go throw that thing away.” Regina smirked.  
“Yes, of course.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys. Sorry for the late, short, update, but I just got done moving into my college apartment, which is two states north of where I’ve been living. I promise that I’ll do better next week.   
> Thanks for reading guys! Please review! See you next time!


	8. Chapter 8

“What is this movie called again?” Regina asked as they slid into two seats in the back of the theater.  
“Ginger Snaps.” Emma said, putting the cup of Dr. Pepper in between them and settling the bag of popcorn on her lap. “It’s about werewolves.”  
“…I see.” Regina said after a moment. “So the title’s a pun.” Emma stopped in the process of mixing Hot Tamales into the popcorn.   
“Actually yeah, probably.” She admitted. “I never really thought of it like that, but yeah.”  
“That’s not a good sign.” Regina said flatly before leaning over and taking a sip from the cup.  
“Aw c’mon, it can’t be that bad.” Emma said optimistically. Regina arched an eyebrow, forgetting for the moment that Emma couldn’t see her. “Hey, did they have werewolves where you’re from?”  
“Yes, we did.” Regina half-growled, remembering the annoying mutt that followed Snow White around. Emma winced.  
“Bad memories?”  
“You could say that.” Just then the trailers started, cutting off further conversation.   
One hundred and eight minutes later  
“That…wasn’t awful.” Regina said slowly, making Emma laugh.  
“Glad you loved it so much.” She said as they crossed the parking lot, which was mostly empty seeing as it was 2 in the morning, throwing her arm over Regina’s shoulder and holding the cup and straw near Regina’s head. Regina quickly wrapped her lips around the straw and began taking sips. In honesty, Regina was starting to develop an addiction to Dr. Pepper, something that Emma was all too happy to enable. After draining a good third of the cup, Regina shrugged.  
“It wasn’t bad, it wasn’t great, it simply was.”  
“Fair enough.” Emma admitted, laughing again as Regina began drinking from the cup eagerly again. “It’s a good thing you don’t know where the drinks are stored at Lagoon, or we’d run out of Dr. Pepper pretty quickly.” She teased, smiling as she felt Regina glare at her as they climbed into the car.   
“I have some self-control Emma.” The older woman growled. “I’m not you.” Emma chuckled.  
“Ow, you hurt my child feelings.” She said in fake pain as she handed the cup over to Regina. Regina rolled her eyes and began finishing off the cup as Emma fiddled with her seatbelt, glancing at the blonde.   
“Don’t punch me.” She said, setting down the cup and leaning towards Emma, who looked at her in confusion.   
“Don’t punch you? Why would I…?” Emma’s question was cut off by Regina’s lips meeting hers. Her eyes widened in surprise, then slowly lowered as she pressed herself against Regina. After a long moment, her eyes slid open as she smiled, then shot open wide.  
“What’s wrong?” Regina asked, concerned. Emma blinked.  
“Wow, you’re really, really hot.” She said dumbly, staring at Regina in awe. “I mean, damn.” Regina blinked as she stared at Emma, processing what the blonde was saying.  
“You…you can see me?” Emma smiled and started nodding, her eyes shining. Regina stared at her, then leaned forward and kissed Emma again.   
The next day  
“I missed cuddling.” Regina mused as she and Emma lay together in Emma’s bed. “It’s not what one would call exciting…but still enjoyable.”  
“It really is.” Emma said with a nod, pleasantly surprised. “Though I’m not sure why you got to be the ‘big spoon’ when you’re so much smaller.”  
“I am not that short.” Regina protested.  
“Yes you are. You’re a little munchkin.” Emma teased, shifting in Regina’s arms to look at her. The older woman glared at her and poked her in the side.   
“You’re two inches taller than me at the most.” She pointed out, annoyed. Emma just grinned wider.  
“Two inches taller is still taller.”  
“Why do I like you?” Regina mourned.  
“Because I’m awesome.” Emma said, still grinning. Regina rolled her eyes and shoved Emma off the bed.  
“Hey!” Emma protested, picking herself up.  
“You were asking for it.” Regina said dryly, sitting up. “Honestly, you don’t seem to grasp the most basic aspects of relationships.”  
“And yet you still love me.” Emma said with a cheeky smirk. Regina rolled her eyes and gave her a quick kiss on the lips.   
“Heaven knows why, but yes, yes I do.” She said softly before giving her a second, deeper but still gentle kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, this is the good ship Swan Queen-we have landed and will be staying for the duration of this story!
> 
> Thanks for reading guys! Please review! Love you!


	9. Sorry!

Sorry, I'm a freaking idiot. I just posted a chapter from one of my other stories onto this one. It's fixed now, obviously. Sorry!


	10. Chapter 10

“I don’t understand what you’re so excited about.” Regina said as Emma slid the tape into the VCR.   
“This was the first animated movie I ever saw, and the first fairy tale I ever read.” Emma explained, whispering so as to not bother her foster family. The rule was that she could watch whatever she wanted, that wasn’t porn or rated R, whenever she wanted so long as she didn’t bother anybody else. This way she didn’t have to worry about people thinking she was crazy while she watched the movie with Regina, who’d probably commentate throughout. She sat down, grinning as Regina nuzzled into her. Cuddling was a little difficult when you were the only one who could see the object of your affections, but fortunately Regina understood this and was willing to be the ‘little spoon’ when cuddling.  
About two minutes into the movie Regina stiffened. “What is this movie called dear?” She asked.  
“Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.” Emma said with a shrug, not noticing Regina’s unease. Things continued calmly, though Regina kept mocking and snorting at Snow White, when suddenly…  
“I AM NOT, NOR HAVE I EVER BEEN, JEALOUS OF SNOW WHITE!” Regina yelled, sitting bolt upright and glaring daggers at the TV. Emma stared at her in surprise.  
“Uh, Regina? You okay?” She asked. Regina glared at the screen for a moment longer before sinking back into the couch, though she didn’t lean into Emma.  
“I’m fine.” The older woman said shortly. Emma frowned at her in concern, but knew better than to push and so she leaned back to continue watching the movie. But then, when Snow White found the Dwarves’ cottage and began looking around, Regina commented again. “’Maybe they have no mother’.” She said mockingly. “Always concerned about people’s mothers.” Emma blinked, confused and surprised at the level of bitterness in her girlfriend’s voice.   
“Okay, what’s wrong?” She asked, pausing the movie.   
“What makes you think something’s wrong?” Regina asked. Emma just gave her a look, and she sighed.  
“I assume you remember when I told you that I come from a different world.” Emma nodded. “Well, it would appear this movie is a bastardized version of my life.” Emma blinked and stared at Regina, then at the TV screen, and then back at Regina.  
“Wait wait. You’re telling me that you’re the…”  
“Evil Queen, yes.” Regina said flatly.  
“Who said you were evil?” Emma demanded. Regina gave her a surprised look.  
“You just said that you grew up watching this…version of events. I would assume you grew up with that term, seeing as they don’t seem to have deigned to give this version of me a name.”  
“According to the script it’s Grimhilde.” Emma said absently, still trying to come to terms with everything she was finding out.  
“Is it now?” Regina asked rhetorically with a frown of distaste. “I almost prefer Evil Queen.”   
“But I don’t think you’re evil.” Emma protested, coming back to her original point. “How could I? To me you’re Regina, the woman with the worst luck in the world, the woman who beat CarnEvil ten times in one week, the woman who’s addicted to Dr. Pepper, and…” She leaned forward and gave Regina a peck on the cheek. “The woman I love.” Regina blinked and blushed slightly, looking away before turning back and kissing Emma on the lips, then nuzzling into her. “So…” Emma started after they laid there like that for a while in silence. “Do you want to tell me your side of things?” Regina stared at the wall in silence for a long moment, then nodded.  
“I feel like I should.”  
One hour later  
“…”Emma stared at Regina. “When we get you home, I think I’ll punch Snow White for you.” Regina just blinked at her. “I mean, I don’t think I could bring myself to kill her, but the woman needs a fist to the face.” Regina blinked again, then kiss tackled Emma, slamming her down into the couch. When they broke apart, Emma blinked owlishly up at her. “Uh, not that I’m complaining, because I’m really, really not, but what was that about?”  
“Two reasons.” Regina said tenderly, brushing Emma’s cheek. “First of all, you said when I get home. Not if but when. And secondly, you said you’d come with me.”  
“Well of course. Did you think I’d just let you go alone?” When Regina couldn’t meet her eyes, Emma gave a soft chuckle, shook her head, and leaned up to give Regina a tender kiss to the lips.  
“I love you. And that means that I’m with you no matter what, understand?”   
“Yes ma’am.” Regina said with a dry chuckle, returning the kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because every Swan Queen AU should have at least one chapter where Regina has to watch the Disney version of her life.  
> Thanks for reading guys! Please review!


End file.
